Retirement Not An Option Nowadays

Keep Working In USA / CANADA Thinking about retiring? You may want to think again. More than four in 10 adults 60 and older, or 42%, say they will never fully stop working — and most say it is not by choice, according to new data from ZipRecruiter’s 2026 Retirement Reality Report. A record 11.6 million people age 65 and older are in the U.S. workforce, up 132% from 2004, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed in an April 2026 study by CareScout. “By 2030, around 1 in 2 workers in many economies will be aged over 50, yet we still push people toward a full stop just as they reach peak experience,” says Lyndsey Simpson, founder and CEO at 55/Redefine and author of “The Age Rebellion: Supercharging the Second Half of Your Life.“ Simpson says research shows that people who remain purposefully engaged and hold positive views about aging can live up to 7.5 years longer than those who don’t. “Retirement, as it has been sold to us, is a trap in the age of the 100 year life, creating a cliff edge that many people instinctively want to avoid … the future isn’t about working forever in exhausting jobs, but about redesigning work so experienced talent can stay relevant, connected and fulfilled for decades longer,” Try your hand at a second business. If you raised children, you probably know there is little time to fit in a full-time job – let alone a side gig. But sometimes as we age we have more time. For 63-year-old certified menopause coach and functional aging specialist Sarah Fuhrmann, that time is spent on not one, but two businesses. “I grew up thinking retirement was the reward at the end of a career. As I’ve gotten older, it feels more like an outdated model that assumes that women later in life should be smaller, quieter and largely invisible. That’s not me. I have no interest in disappearing into the background when I still have so much to offer,” Fuhrmann says. Indeed, she says retirement isn’t in her future plans. “I can’t even imagine it. This stage of life feels less like winding down and more like stepping into some of the most meaningful work I’ve done. I run two businesses, one in fitness and one in menopause coaching, and both are deeply tied to helping people stay strong, capable and engaged as they age,” Fuhrmann says. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/ar-AA23c0Ab